For this exercise I was asked to draw groups of people. To observe their movement and interaction. This exercise is almost impossible to complete during the Pandemic, whilst some restrictions have been lifted it would be very difficult to find a crowd of people. (And if I could it wouldn’t feel very safe!) 

My best option was to trawl through past photographs, where I can remember the atmosphere and energy of the place I captured. 

However it turns out I don’t tend to take photographs of anonymous crowds so I had very little to work from. I therefore decided to remember an atmospheric place I had been to and find photographs from the internet to work from. 

I decided to choose Reading festival.

Being from Reading myself this is somewhere I have been a significant number of times and it is a place with an unforgettable electric atmosphere and energy. 

The main things about Reading festival, are that people are generally happy, there is loud music everywhere, people are dancing, having fun with their friends and watching their favourite bands play their favourite tunes. People are often intoxicated and this festival allows people to unwind and take a break from their real lives.

The atmosphere and energy of festivals are unlike any other place and the huge crowds they attract just make that atmosphere and electricity even more vibrant. 

My first drawing was of a crowd in front of an empty stage, it was still fairly busy but people were more relaxed. 

I worked quickly to try to get the sense of movement and I worked with a blue biro in my sketch book. 

Below is my drawing:

I then decided to add colour- to try to create more atmosphere, I used colouring pencils and added some black biro to my drawing. 

Below is my drawing:

By adding colour I feel like I have lost some of the charm of the drawing. I feel like it looks more like an illustration of the crowd now rather than capturing the vibrant energy of the moment. Reading festival feels free and exciting, whereas my drawing looks static and still. 

For my next drawing I tried to capture atmosphere. I left it simple with just a black biro and I worked quickly. Below is my drawing:

In this drawing even though it was very quick I feel more like I have captured a moment and each of my figures are as interesting as the next. Technically my accuracy is off, but I feel in this particular drawing that is not so important. To me this shows the end of the festival, where most people have slowed down but there is still a handful of keen party goers.